Preview, prediction, what to pay attention to

A look at Sunday’s NFL Week 4 matchup between the Jets and Broncos at MetLife Stadium:

Marquee matchup

Jets WR Garrett Wilson vs. Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II

Another week, another top cornerback for Wilson.

The Jets expect Surtain to shadow Wilson in this game, just as L’Jarius Sneed did for the Titans two weeks ago and Christian Gonzalez did for the Patriots last week.

Wilson said he accepted the challenge.

“I love it,” Wilson said. “As long as we don’t crown them before the game and we still take a few chances on them, I love it.”

Wilson hasn’t posted his typical stats this season, in part because of the coverage he’s seen.

He has 15 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown.

In addition to only seeing the opponent’s top cornerback, teams also used safeties to help Wilson.

“Anytime they look like that, it can be frustrating,” Wilson said. “I have to trust that we have the answer on the other side. That’s what we found out. It’s definitely frustrating. I take pride in making plays and doing what I do. If they want to give me that look, we have to deal with it as best we can.”

Surtain followed Wilson on 20 of 29 passing snaps last year and held Wilson to one catch for 12 yards.

That was with Zach Wilson at quarterback.

The expectation is that Wilson will perform much better this week and this year with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball.

Costello’s call

The Jets handled business against the Patriots, and there’s no reason to believe they won’t do the same against a Broncos team struggling with a young quarterback.

The offense won’t move the ball easily against Denver, and it could be a close game in the second half, but the Jets pull away late.

Jets 20, Broncos 10

Four defeats

Rolling Rodgers: Aaron Rodgers said he felt and looked like himself again last week against the Patriots. Rodgers was in complete control in the 24-3 win.

He picked apart New England’s defense and was extremely efficient.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing was his mobility.

For the first time this season (and since his surgery), he had to come out of the pocket multiple times.

Rodgers ran for 18 yards on three carries and made several throws along the way.

“It’s a process,” Rodgers said. “I felt better from Week 1 to Week 2, Week 2 to Week 3, and then we got a nice little gift there with the long weekend, so I felt better. I mean, I said after the first week, I felt like I was making progress and being able to move around a little bit more. I maybe did that a little bit against Tennessee and then obviously moved a lot more effectively in Week 3.”

BREEEEEECE: The Jets and Broncos are playing each other for the fourth straight year, which is an odd schedule for non-division opponents.

This means players are very comfortable teaching others.

Jets running back Breece Hall hit a low point against the Broncos in 2022 when he tore his ACL against them.

But Hall also had a lot of success against Denver.

He has 249 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries in two games against the Broncos.

He had a 62-yard touchdown in 2022 before his injury, and last year he rushed for 177 yards on 22 carries and a 72-yard touchdown.

Bo knows: The Jets face their first rookie starting quarterback of the season this week, with Bo Nix making his fourth NFL start for the Broncos.

Nix hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass yet, but he has made a two-yard pass and shown progress.

Last week he helped the Broncos upset the Buccaneers.

He completed 69 percent of his passes and had no turnovers.

He was not sacked in the game.

Nix has made four interceptions this season and has struggled under pressure.

The Jets will certainly look to heat him up in this game.

They blitzed more (40 percent of dropbacks) than usual against the Patriots last week, and they could do that again this week.

Where there is a will: Second-year defensive end Will McDonald is off to a good start.

McDonald has five sacks in his last two games and is developing into the player the Jets expected when they took him 15th overall in 2023.

“This season was a 180-degree change,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said of McDonald. “It’s not necessarily that last year was bad, it’s just that he was a freshman and young. He found his way and learned how to operate in this league and be successful in this league. I just found comfort in the plan, just comfort in knowing what to expect and not being so new to it.”